Conference League
Buxton Speedway: Hitmen race to big win
By Nick
Jul 14, 2008, 19:01

The lousy summer weather finally abated to allow the Buxton Hitmen to record a comfortable win over the Sittingbourne Crusaders in the Conference League on Sunday by 61 points to 31.

After the previous week’s meeting against the Redcar Cubs was postponed because of the rain, fingers were firmly crossed in Buxton that the heavy rain from Friday and Saturday would stay away to let this fixture go ahead. It turned out to be a rather pleasant sunny afternoon as these two sides met just a month after Buxton had won 46-44 away at Sittingbourne.

The Hitmen looked to be getting off to the perfect start as John Branney led from team-mate Paul Burnett in the opening race with the Crusaders Alex Cunningham falling on the first turn. Unfortunately Branney went down at the same point one lap later and his uncharacteristic fall led to him being excluded from the race. In the re-run Burnett and former Buxton rider Dean Felton raced neck-and-neck for the first lap before Burnett edged in front, that was until he made a mistake exiting turn two on the final lap and Felton seized his chance, passing his former team-mate as they entered the next turn and going on to win.

Gareth Isherwood continued to make his presence felt for the Hitmen by taking victory in Heat 2 but partner Scott Whittington fell on the second lap while in third to leave the race shared and Sittingbourne held onto their two point lead. Heat 3 turned into a cracker of a race as Nathan Irwin hit the front for the visitors with Ben Taylor and Lewis Dallaway in pursuit for the Hitmen. Cunningham went around Dallaway on the fourth turn of the opening lap to take third before Taylor passed Irwin on the back straight on the next lap. Irwin looked uncomfortable with the conditions and he was passed by both Cunningham and Dallaway as he ran wide at the end of the third lap and the 4-2 to the Hitmen meant that the scores were level.

Sittingbourne’s Aaron Baseby led the following race from Jack Roberts and Isherwood but on the final lap he ran way too wide on the second turn and fell allowing both of the Buxton riders to pass and take maximum points with Baseby remounting his machine to finish the race and collect a single point. The Hitmen extended their lead as Taylor led from start to finish and Dallaway rode an excellent first turn to go around the Sittingbourne pair to join his partner. Felton pressed Dallaway hard and dived up the inside as they entered the third turn on the third lap but Dallaway kept the throttle wound on to keep ahead. The 5-1 moved Buxton eight points clear and this became ten as Branney won Heat 6 from Baseby and Burnett.

Roberts took his second win of the afternoon in the next race but Irwin and Felton packed in behind him to share the race points and Buxton were again on for maximum points in Heat 8 as Isherwood led from Burnett until the latter suddenly slowed as he exited the final turn of the third lap to go from second to fourth. His bike got going again and as he completed his last lap Cunningham fell as he entered the final turn and Burnett picked up third place. The Taylor/Dallaway pairing added their second full house in Heat 9 as they took first and second although Baseby kept Dallaway honest by pressing all of the way. Baseby hit the front in the following race but Branney passed him at the end of the opening lap as the Hitmen opened their lead to 18 points.

Sittingbourne put Felton on a double-points tactical ride in Heat 11 but Roberts was too quick out of the start and was away and gone before Cunningham let Felton through into second to maximise the tactical move. Whittingham pulled out a fantastic pass on Cunningham around the outside on the second turn of lap three but his enthusiasm outdid his ability as he went into the next turn too fast and crashed. Taylor notched up his fourth straight race win in Heat 12 in a fast race time with Isherwood following him home, completing his four programmed rides unbeaten by an opponent. Roberts and Branney were too god for Felton and Baseby in the battle of the big guns in Heat 13 as Buxton went 24 points clear.

Dallaway led from the tapes in Heat 14 but a mistake on the second lap saw Marc Andrews pass him. The Sittingbourne youngster led until he ran too wide on the second turn of the final lap and he fell after clipping the fence. The lad was clearly despondent as he recovered to the infield but received a warm round of applause as he trudge off back to the pits. It was left to complete the formalities of the final race and the unbeaten duo of Roberts and Taylor finished the job off in style as they completed their maximums ahead of Felton and Baseby.

SCORERS

Buxton – J Branney 8+1, P Burnett 5, B Taylor 14+1, L Dallaway 8+2, J Roberts 15, S Whittington 1, G Isherwood 10+2.

Sittingbourne – D Felton 10+1, A Cunningham 4+1, N Irwin 2, M Baseby r/r, A Baseby 7, D Berwick 7, M Andrews 1+1.